Behaviour and modelling of aluminium alloy AA6060 subjected to a wide range of strain rates and temperatures

Abstract

The thermo-mechanical behaviour in tension of an as-cast and homogenized AA6060 alloy was investigated at a wide range of strains (the entire deformation process up to fracture), strain rates (0.01-750 s-1) and temperatures (20-350 °C). The tests at strain rates up to 1 s-1 were performed in a universal testing machine, while a split-Hopkinson tension bar (SHTB) system was used for strain rates from 350 to 750 s-1. The samples were heated with an induction-based heating system. A typical feature of aluminium alloys at high temperatures is that necking occurs at a rather early stage of the deformation process. In order to determine the true stress-strain curve also after the onset of necking, all tests were instrumented with a digital camera. The experimental tests reveal that the AA6060 material has negligible strain-rate sensitivity (SRS) for temperatures lower than 200 °C, while both yielding and work hardening exhibit a strong positive SRS at higher temperatures. The coupled strain-rate and temperature sensitivity is challenging to capture with most existing constitutive models. The paper presents an outline of a new semi-physical model that expresses the flow stress in terms of plastic strain, plastic strain rate and temperature. The parameters of the model were determined from the tests, and the stress-strain curves from the tests were compared with the predictions of the model. Good agreement was obtained over the entire strain rate and temperature range.